The survey of Irish parents with children aged 7 up to 12 has found that the days of tweens being glued to the TV are over, as interest shifts to smaller and smaller screens. So much so, that demand among this group for mobile phones (36.5%) and tablets (22.6%) is over 15 times that of TVs (3.4%).

Mobile phones top the league of most coveted tech for ‘tweenagers’, with mobile phone credit (11.6%) considered a ‘must-have’ in order to stay connected. In fact, Argos reports that sim-free mobile sales are up by over 50%**, as pay as you go deals become more competitive and consumers take to sim-free options, such as the Alba Sim Free 2.8 inch Mobile Phone to save money. This is particularly true for parents looking to purchase a suitable first phone for their child.

Irish ‘tweenagers’ are using the handheld devices to consume traditional media, such as TV shows, play interactive and educational games, and engage with friends online. They are able to do all of this with the help of generous weekly pocket money payouts from their parents. The Alba survey shows the majority of pre-tweens are pocketing between €5 and €20 a week.

The importance of being constantly connected is evident, with nearly half of “tweenagers” taking their mobile phone to school and a third switching on as soon as they wake up. In fact, the mobile phone is now the most common item inhabiting a pre-teen’s backpack.

While other staples remain largely unchanged from that of their parent’s generation, including notebooks and magazines, the poll reveals that present-day pre-tweens may be more health-conscious than their parents, with only 19% taking sweets to school compared to 32% of their parents’ generation.

In addition to engaging with new technologies, the survey also reveals that tech-savvy tweens spend a lot of time talking to their friends about technology (32.9%) and social media (38.1%), considerably more than chatting about other popular culture topics, such as fashion (28%), celebrity (21%) and reality television (17.6%). But interestingly, the favourite topic for Irish “tweenager” chat is school.

The Alba survey showed that when it comes to pocket money, Donegal tweens are doing best with 5.3% recorded as getting over €100 per week in pocket money. But the majority (37.5%) get between €5 and €10 per week from their parents.

In another sign of the changing times, today’s tweens are getting more money for less work. While nearly half of parents said they had to do chores to earn their pocket money, over 20% of pre-teens nowadays get away with doing no work in return for payment.

Andrea Derrick, Alba Brand Controller, said: “Alba provides great value technology for pre-teens whilst also offering vibrant and fun designs with technology that is easy to navigate. It is starter technology that parents can buy for their children, with the confidence that it is durable, affordable and safe, with parental control options offering peace of mind.”

Notes to Editors:

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The research was carried out for Alba by Opinion Matters amongst 500 Irish parents.

*36.5% of parents say mobile phone devices along with tablets (22.6%) are the most coveted items for tech for tweens compared to 3.4% who say TVs
**Figure is based on year-on-year comparison of the 9th November to 15th November 2016 to the same week in 2015 (54.7%)

About Sainsbury’s Argos

Sainsbury’s Argos is a leading UK digital retailer and sells more than 60,000 products under the Argos and Habitat brands. It sells through www.argos.co.uk, www.habitat.co.uk, its growing mobile channels, its 845 stores and over the telephone. Argos Digital Stores and Mini Habitats can also be found in Sainsbury's supermarkets.

Argos is the UK’s largest high street retailer online and the second most visited website, with nearly a billion website visits a year. More than half of the company's sales originate online and around 120 million customer transactions take place in its stores each year. Argos offers customers market leading delivery and collection services, including Check & Reserve, Fast Track Delivery and Fast Track Collection which make customers' lives easier, every day.

Sainsbury's Argos is part of J Sainsbury plc, a leading retailer of food, clothing and general merchandise and owner of Sainsbury's Bank. Sainsbury's commitment to helping customers live well for less has been at the heart of what the company does since 1869. J Sainsbury plc employs 195,000 colleagues across the UK and Ireland whose strong culture and values are integral to driving its success – now and in the future. Our vision is to be the most trusted retailer where people love to work and shop.